Our Departments

The past and future of the solid Earth, the oceans and life are all inexorably linked. In this department we research and teach about the solid Earth (Geology and Geophysics), about the seas and oceans (Oceanography), and about how groups of organisms evolve and interact (Ecology and Marine Biology).

Our work often crosses the boundaries between these areas, for instance addressing how the physics of ocean currents affects nutrient supply for marine organisms, and how climate change – registered in the isotopic composition of seawater- is recorded in the rocks which formed in that seawater.

The Department consists of two traditional disciplines: Spatial Planning (known as Civic Design – the oldest and one of the best known planning schools in the world) and Geography (one of the longest established in the world, with geography courses on offer since 1886). It combines research interests that revolve around:

Different ways in which humans respond to and manage aspects of environmental as well as associated economic and social change; and

Earth Surface Processes and Environmental Change, including both climate and human actions over periods of 1000s of years.

The Department of Environmental Science at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University is one of the University’s newest departments and has already attracted a healthy number of academically talented undergraduate students. We have academic staff recruited from excellent universities and institutes around the world.

Our ambition is to conduct research to provide holistic solutions for big environmental issues in China and elsewhere today, such as living with environmental change, biodiversity loss, pollution, land and water management. To achieve this, we will work in partnership with governments, research institutes, businesses, industries and communities to put our expertise to good use.